


Your Love is Deadly, It’s Like Fire

by Lopithecus



Category: Naruto
Genre: (but she loves him anyway), Canon-Typical Violence, Especially Kakashi's, Getting Together, Hurt/Comfort, Kakashi loves Gai so much it's ridiculous, M/M, Protective Hatake Kakashi, Tsunade is so done with everyone's shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-14
Updated: 2020-10-14
Packaged: 2021-03-08 21:41:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 8,634
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27003709
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lopithecus/pseuds/Lopithecus
Summary: Gai gets wounded badly when out on an important mission. Instead of continuing with the mission, Kakashi decides everyone needs to head back to Konoha to get Gai treated. Kakashi worries, Gai tries to lighten the mood, Tsunade just wishes people would listen to her.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Maito Gai | Might Guy
Comments: 16
Kudos: 105





	Your Love is Deadly, It’s Like Fire

**Author's Note:**

> I seriously needed more Gai whump in the KakaGai fandom. There isn’t nearly enough of it (though the ones I have read have been fantastic!)
> 
> This is partly inspired by [zuotian’s](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zuotian/profile) fic, [_Somewhere Between Retribution and Recovery_](https://archiveofourown.org/works/17655848/chapters/41637632#workskin). If you’ve read that, then you’ll know what part I’m talking about (hint: it's the tent scene.)
> 
> I will admit, I haven’t finished Naruto Shippuden and I haven’t seen a single episode of Boruto (except for some of the KakaGai moments during their ~~honeymoon~~ vacation.) I’ve just recently started a rewatch and I’m still on just Naruto. So I might get some info wrong but I’m just going to claim artistic liberty. ;)
> 
> I really wanted this to be in Gai’s pov but then, as I was daydreaming about it, I realized that it wouldn’t work in his pov. So, Kakashi’s it is.
> 
> Also, Kakashi and Gai are not in a relationship at the beginning of this. Their getting together is more subtle. By that, I mean they never actually state that they are starting a romantic relationship. It’s never made into a big deal basically.
> 
> Please enjoy!

It’s not like Kakashi didn’t think it could happen. He is very much aware of his and his team’s mortality. He knows it will happen eventually. He just doesn’t  _ want  _ it to happen. The thought scares him. Not that he will ever admit that out loud, of course.

This was supposed to be an easy B-rank mission that very quickly and dramatically turned into an A-rank mission. It was him, Gai, Naruto, Sakura, and Shikamaru. A weird combination but they were all that were available. Sai is on a different mission and so is Choji and Ino. Gai tagged along because Kakashi requested him. It had sounded like from their briefing that they would need a taijutsu specialist. Now, Kakashi is regretting that decision.

“Damn it,” Kakashi rips off a bandage and presses into the wound at Gai’s side, watching as blood oozes out. Gai groans but he looks okay and coherent so far, despite all the blood loss. “I need to find Sakura. It won’t stop bleeding.”

Gai’s hands are shaking when he reaches for the already blood-soaked bandage. “I’ll hold it,” he breathes out.

Kakashi shakes his head, raindrops splashing into his eyes. “I can’t leave you alone. We’re still in enemy territory.”

“Then what are you going to do?”

“Tt.” Kakashi bites his bottom lip. He looks around, trying to find something to conceal Gai’s prone body but finds nothing. With an agitated sigh, he turns his attention back to Gai. “I’ll be right back.” He rushes off, not waiting for an answer.

This mission.

This mission was supposed to be easy.

Their mission was to find a low-rank rogue ninja who was proficient in taijutsu and apprehend him, bringing him back to Konoha. They didn’t know nor did they take into consideration that he would have formed his own small militia made up of various strong ninja, with one of them having a kekkei genkai, according to one of the other men.

Once they had reached their destination and had realized what was happening, Kakashi put out the orders, telling Gai to focus on the one they came for since he would be best matched with him. That wasn’t the problem. The problem was when their target split off from the rest, Gai in pursuit. He had then gotten severely injured when their target met up with another person, the one with the kekkei genkai it seemed, from the militia.

Gai had gotten stabbed.

He had gotten stabbed because Kakashi got careless and didn’t stop him from following. Kakashi should have known better than to let Gai follow, especially out of sight. He knew there were accomplices, so why… why did he let Gai go?

Because Gai is strong, that’s why. Because Gai can handle himself. Because Gai wouldn’t let something like this happen to himself.

Not unless he had been taken by surprise.

Gai never really has been that good with sensing others around him.

Kakashi bites into his bottom lip harder, drawing blood. He shouldn’t have allowed this to happen but the self-blame will have to wait until  _ after _ Sakura heals him. Right now, he needs to focus. Quickly, Kakashi extends his senses, looking for Sakura’s chakra. He finds her on the ground, healing a wound on Naruto’s ankle.

He drops down beside her. “Sakura.”

“Kakashi-Sensei!” She stands. Perfect timing.

“Follow me.”

She stops him. “Shikamaru needs us.”

“Don’t worry, Sakura-Chan.” Naruto places a hand on her shoulder. “I’ll go help him.”

Sakura nods. “Be careful.” She turns back to him. “Alright.”

Kakashi nods and then leads her back to where Gai is, hyper-aware of the fact that the rain is slowing their progress. The limbs on the trees are slippery and though it’s no problem for him who is a seasoned Jonin, for someone like Sakura it would be much more difficult for her to change her chakra accordingly to stick to the branches. She’s always been a fast learner, though, and soon they are making faster progress until Kakashi spots Gai lying on the ground.

There’s a pool of watery blood surrounding his body and Kakashi’s heart immediately jumps into his throat to make its new home there. He drops down hastily, mud and water splashing up onto his shins. “Gai!”

He approaches quickly, noticing how limp Gai’s hold is on the bandage. It’s weird to see how pale Gai’s tanned face is but there’s a grimace there so Kakashi knows he’s at least alive. He kneels down at Gai’s feet, watching as Sakura wastes no time in her healing.

She peels away Gai’s limp hand and the bandage to look at the wound. Her face draws taut in worry and Kakashi’s stomach clenches. As Sakura’s hands glow green over the wound, Kakashi watches Gai’s face. It looks pained, something Kakashi isn’t used to seeing on the man. It worries him.

It scares him.

“Kakashi-Sensei,” Sakura’s calm and controlled voice snaps him out of his thoughts. She’s not looking at him, all concentration on the wound. “Naruto and Shikamaru are going to need help. We’ve already got Gai-Sensei out of commission. We can’t have you out either.”

He looks at her. Stares really. Does she know he can’t just leave Gai that easily?

Kakashi’s hands are shaking.

He swallows.

He knows she’s right.

His hands won’t stop shaking.

He gives Gai a glance, feels the bile threaten to rise up, and then stands, balling his hands up into fists. He hopes she doesn’t notice their quivering.

“Right,” he says. “I’ll leave him to you.” And then he’s off.

He helps Naruto and Shikamaru take down the last two of the accomplices but they’ve lost the target and the one with the kekkei genkai. He doesn’t sense them anywhere either. He could call up his ninken to hopefully find a trace of their scent but Kakashi wants to regroup first. He tells the two boys to follow him and they meet back up with Sakura.

“Sensei,” Sakura says in greeting, her face grim.

“Gai?” he asks right away, peering around her body. He doesn’t look any better but at least the blood has stopped.

“I’ve healed the wound but…” She trails off, not meeting his eyes. “He lost a lot of blood and there’s something else. I think he might have been poisoned. I’m going to need to analyze his blood but I can’t do that here.” She shrugs. “I’ve given him an antidote just in case but I have a feeling this might be a poison we’ve never seen before.”

Kakashi’s eyebrows furrow. “The kekkei genkai.”

“What?” All three of them say at once.

“There was a rumor when Gai and I were teenagers that there was a ninja that could make special poison inside his body. All he had to do was scratch you and you would be infected.”

“Gai-Sensei wasn’t just scratched,” Sakura exhales loudly. “He was stabbed.”

“Yes, but if the user had coated his blade in his blood…” he trails off, letting the others fill in the blanks.

“What should we do, Kakashi-Sensei?” Naruto asks.

Shikamaru speaks before Kakashi can. “One of us can go back to Konoha with Gai-Sensei while the rest of us go after our target.”

He knows Shikamaru is right but… Kakashi watches Gai, shaking in pain. “How much longer do you think he has?”

Sakura’s lips draw into a straight line as she peers behind herself. “It’s hard to say. A couple days, maybe two… maybe three.”

It’s going to take them at least a day to get back to the village. He looks at Gai again, feeling his stomach churn with unease. Tsunade is going to be mad at him. “No. We all will go back now. Report to the Hokage and see what she wants us to do.”

“Sensei,” Sakura starts, looking back towards him. “He needs to rest a little. Get out of this rain.”

Kakashi nods in agreement. “Let’s move away from here, set up camp and rest for a few hours. Then we’ll move out.”

They do as instructed, Naruto helping Kakashi carry Gai, one arm slung over their shoulders on each side. They move away from that spot and travel several meters before landing. They set Gai down by a tree, propping him up. His shaking has stopped and his skin color is turning back to normal which makes Kakashi’s nerves ease a little.

Kakashi helps Shikamaru set up the two tents. They’re lucky they even have them. Shikamaru had said that it might rain during their mission and so had packed them with his stuff. It’s not very often they carry them, even if it is going to rain, opting to instead take cover in a cave or alcove. Shikamaru’s excuse was that it’s too troublesome to find a place like that. When Kakashi asked him if it wasn’t “troublesome” to put up tents, Shikamaru just sighed and mumbled to himself tiredly. Now, he puts them up without complaint.

Sakura volunteers to bring Gai into one of the tents. He’s awake now, barely, and is able to lean on Sakura as she guides him into the structure. She claims she wants to check him over again. Kakashi’s nerves spike once more but relax when she steps out of it, not looking too concerned.

She goes up to him. “I’ve told him to sleep. He’s going to need as much energy and strength he can gather for the journey home.” There’s a crease where her eyebrows knit together. “He lost a lot of blood and is in definite pain even though he’s pretending not to be. I tried to get him to take a blood replenishing pill and something for the pain but he refused.”

Kakashi glances towards the tent. Of course, Gai refused. “Give them to me. I’ll get him to take them.”

Sakura scowls. “I’m technically not supposed to force these things onto anyone.”

“Then it’s a good thing  _ you _ wouldn’t be.” Kakashi holds out his hand and with a reluctant sigh, Sakura drops the pills in it. “Get some rest, Sakura. Have Naruto take the first watch. We’ll leave in a few hours” She nods and walks away, peering back at Kakashi and the tent before reaching Naruto and Shikamaru to tell them the plan.

Taking a deep breath, Kakashi enters the tent. He finds Gai lying on the ground, covered in a blanket. Despite poison pumping through his veins, he looks considerably okay. He’s no longer pale and his shaking has stopped. Kakashi wonders how much pain he’s actually in. Gai has always been fantastic at hiding that sort of thing.

Gai is staring at him as Kakashi crawls over. “I hear you’re being stubborn.”

“You know I don’t rely on that stuff,” Gai says, sounding tired. That’s the first giveaway that something is wrong, Kakashi assumes.

“Well,” Kakashi drawls. “I can either add these to your food unknowingly and you will have to be suspicious of which one it’s in for the rest of the night or,” he smirks under his mask, “you can just take them.”

Gai stares at him, probably trying to figure out just how serious Kakashi is, and then finally sighs, sitting up some and holding a hand out. “Fine,” he mumbles.

Kakashi smiles in triumph and hands the pills over. “They’re just to replenish your blood loss and help with pain anyway. It’s not a big deal.”

“Kakashi,” Gai says in warning but it doesn’t carry any weight to it.

Kakashi ignores him. “What happened?”

Gai finishes chewing the pills and lies back down on his back with a hard thump. “I was following the target when another shinobi came out of hiding. She took me by surprise. It was weird, Kakashi. I couldn’t sense her at all.”

“Well, it’s never been your strongest suit.”

“No,” Gai says seriously. “This was different. I should have been able to dodge her but…” Gai’s face scrunches contemplatively. “Did you get them?”

Kakashi shakes his head, shifting to get more comfortable. “No. We’re going back to the village to find out what the Hokage wants us to do.”

“That’s not like you.”

“You’ve been poisoned, Gai, Sakura needs-”

“No, Sakura can bring me back herself.” He tries to sit up and it worries Kakashi with how much effort it looks like it takes. “Then you, Naruto, and Shikamaru can get the target.”

Kakashi shakes his head again. “I’m not abandoning you.”

“You’re not, you’re-”

“Gai, we’re all going back. I’m the leader, remember?” This shuts Gai up who stares at him again. “You need to sleep,” Kakashi finally says after a long pause of silence. “We’ll be leaving again in a few hours.”

Gai lies back down, pulling the blanket up to his chin. They stare at each other until Kakashi is sighing and shucking off his flak jacket. It’s soaked and heavy anyway, and he rolls his shoulders once it’s on the ground. Next, he takes off his Hitai-ate, throwing it beside his flak jacket. Gai is still staring at him and Kakashi can feel his whole body heating up.

He stands up as best he can inside the tent, pokes his head out to where Naruto is sitting, keeping watch. “Naruto.” He waits until he’s got Naruto’s attention. “I’m going to keep watch over Gai. He needs to sleep. No one is allowed in here for the time being.”

“Got it, Kakashi-Sensei!” Naruto solutes him and then turns back around to continue his vigil.

Kakashi slips back into the tent and zips the entrance up. He goes and sits back down next to Gai who is still watching him. Hesitating, Kakashi slips his mask off, ringing it out from the water and then setting it beside his flak jacket as well to dry. He can still hear the rain pouring outside when he lies down on his side, facing Gai.

“Stop staring and go to sleep,” he tells Gai.

A smile breaks out on Gai’s face before he, too, salutes him and closes his eyes. Kakashi shakes his head at his friend and watches him. He doesn’t know how much time passes, but at some point he falls asleep, despite wanting to keep an eye on Gai to make sure he was going to be okay. Apparently he had been more tired than he had thought. 

Kakashi startles awake by the sound of chirping birds. When he opens his eyes, the first thing he sees is Gai staring at him. He yawns and stretches. It doesn’t sound like it’s raining anymore. “How long have you been awake?”

There’s a faint sheen of sweat coating Gai’s skin. The second clue that something isn’t right. “Not long.” A small smile appears on Gai’s face, warm and soft. “Kakashi?”

“Hmm?”

“Thank you.”

Kakashi looks at him, confused. “For what?”

“For trusting me.” Gai reaches over and traces a finger down Kakashi’s cheek.

Kakashi looks away, his whole face heating up. “It’s not the first time, Gai.”

“Not like this,” Gai says. “This is different.” Kakashi meets Gai’s eyes, swallowing thickly. “You’re beautiful, Kakashi.”

Kakashi sits up, batting Gai’s hand away gently. “Haven’t I told you not to say that to me?”

“But it’s true.”

“This really isn’t the time.” Kakashi reaches over and pulls his mask back on. It’s still damp but nothing Kakashi can’t deal with. Next comes his Hitai-ate and then his flak jacket. “I’m going to go see if the others are ready.”

Kakashi can  _ feel _ Gai’s wide smile as he leaves the tent. He shouldn’t allow Gai’s teasing to get to him so much but even so, his cheeks feel hot as he exits. He’s greeted by the sight of Shikamaru’s back when he finally gets back outside. The sun is bright and there’s a slight breeze. Should make the travel back home easier, even with an injured Gai. Kakashi walks up to Shikamaru, placing a hand on his shoulder.

“Get Naruto and Sakura. We’re heading out now.” Shikamaru nods at him and heads towards the other tent while Kakashi goes back to the one with Gai. He kneels down beside Gai, hooking one of Gai’s arms around his shoulders. “You ready?”

“Hmm,” Gai hums and Kakashi heaves him up. They stumble a little awkwardly out of the tent but Gai can move mostly on his own for now, at least.

They have to wait for the others to pack up the tent but it doesn’t take them long. Soon, they are making their way down the main path back to Konoha. Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru walk ahead of Gai and Kakashi but the pace is still slow going. Gai leans heavily onto Kakashi and Kakashi supports him with an arm around his waist, gripping his hip tightly in order to keep Gai’s balance. It’s worrisome to see Gai in such a state.

Just a few hours into their journey and Gai is panting heavily, shaking with every step, and sweating profusely. He’s got a hand on his left side where he had gotten stabbed. Their pace has slowed significantly.

“Gai,” Kakashi starts, worried. He can feel his own heart beating in his chest rapidly with no sign of slowing down. “How much are you hurting right now?”

“I’m fine, Kakashi,” he answers stubbornly, gritting his teeth.

“Don’t lie to me, Gai,” Kakashi reprimands, tightening his grip. “How much?”

“Nothing I can’t handle.”

Kakashi stops walking, shifting so he can look at Gai but still keep him balanced. “Let me see.” Gai tsks but lifts the hem of his jumpsuit anyway. His entire side is black and blue, no doubt from the poison. Kakashi’s eye widens, heart now jumping into his throat to pound incessantly there instead. “Sakura!”

The group ahead of them stop and turn around to face them. Sakura is by their side in an instant, looking at Gai. Her lips are pursed and she touches the area lightly. Gai just barely hides a flinch. “How much does this hurt, Gai-Sensei?” She gives him a pointed look. “And I need the truth for an accurate reading.”

Gai rolls his eyes. “It’s really not that bad.”

“You have too much of a high pain tolerance,” Kakashi mumbles.

“Can you keep going?” Sakura asks, ignoring Kakashi’s comment and Gai nods, giving her a wide smile and thumbs up with the hand that isn’t wrapped around Kakashi’s shoulders.

“Of course I can!” he announces.

It irritates Kakashi when Gai pushes himself so much like this but when Sakura gives him a questioning look, all he can do is nod his head in defeat. Sakura straightens from where she was leaning over to look at Gai’s side, allowing Gai to lower his shirt. “Okay, but if you need to stop, tell us.”

“Nonsense,” Gai says, forcing a smile.

They continue on their way, Gai continuing to pant heavily. By their next hour, they’re practically going at a snail’s pace. Gai’s head hangs low, almost his entire body weight leaning on Kakashi. Kakashi adjusts his hold and Gai stiffens with a pain filled groan, causing Kakashi to stop his movements. Gai sways in his arms.

“Kakashi…” Gai says quietly, suddenly leaning his forehead onto Kakashi’s shoulder. He can feel the heat radiating off of Gai and the sweat through his jumpsuit. No doubt he has formed a fever.

“It’s alright, Gai, I’ve got you.” Once more he calls to the others. “Let’s take a break,” he says when they come back over to him. They all nod in agreement and Kakashi leads Gai over to a tree to lean against, with Sakura following. They’ll be out of the sun this way as well. “Here.” He helps Gai sit down on the ground and then sits beside him. Gai immediately leans into him, head flopping back onto his shoulder.

Sakura takes off one of her gloves and holds it up against Gai’s forehead. “He’s burning up,” she says to Kakashi, tone low.

“I thought as much.”

She digs around in her pouch, procuring a small pill. She hands it to Kakashi. “This will help with the fever… hopefully. Since it’s from the poison…” She doesn’t finish her sentence and Kakashi doesn’t need her too. “We at least need to try and get it down. Fevers can be dangerous.”

Kakashi nods, looking at Gai. “I’ll take care of him,” he says and means it. He won’t let anything happen to Gai. Not on his watch. Sakura watches him carefully and must find what she is looking for because she smiles at him and then gets up to join the others.

Kakashi nudges Gai. “Gai, I need you to take this.”

Gai lifts his head, peering at the pill with unfocussed eyes. “What is it?”

“You have a fever. This will help.” He places it in Gai’s weak, unsteady hand. He hates seeing how it shakes. “Don’t try arguing with me.”

“Wasn’t,” Gai mumbles and pops the pill in his mouth, chewing slowly. He then rests his head back on Kakashi’s shoulder. They’re silent for a few seconds before Gai starts talking quietly. “Hey, Kakashi?”

“You should try and get some sleep. We can’t stay here long.”

“Do you remember when I told you I could open all eight gates?” Gai continues, ignoring Kakashi’s suggestion.

Kakashi sighs heavily. Gai always ignored his suggestions. “Of course, I do.”

“You were really mad at me,” Gai complains. “Do you remember that?”

Kakashi nods. “Yeah. I didn’t want you to use them.”

“Because you thought I would use all eight and die,” Gai points out the obvious, not that Kakashi will admit to it. Gai chuckles. “You’re not as hard to read as you like to believe you are, my friend.”

“Maybe to you.” He sighs, shifting to get more comfortable. Gai is looking more and more tired. “We’ve known each other for a long time.”

“Hmm,” Gai hums in agreement, closing his eyes. “You’re not going to lose me, Rival.”

“Don’t say things you can’t promise,” Kakashi says, frowning.

“You won’t,” Gai says again, conviction lacing his tone.

Kakashi shakes his head in disbelief. “How can you say that?”

Gai takes a deep, shuddering breath, glancing up at Kakashi. “Our rivalry is eternal.”

“Gai…”

“It is,” Gai says pointedly. “It’s eternal so you’ll never lose me and I’ll never lose you. Because I said it, it’s true.”

Kakashi peeks down at him, amused by Gai’s reasoning. “I hate you.”

Gai’s mouth pulls into a large grin, all teeth and sparkle despite the sickly look to him. It makes Kakashi want to kiss him. Instead, he leans his head down and touches his forehead to Gai’s, closing his eyes against the sting in his eye. He just hopes Gai is right. That they will never lose each other.

Kakashi pulls away. “Get some sleep, Gai.”

“Right,” Gai sighs out, closing his eyes again. It doesn’t take long for the man to fall asleep.

Kakashi watches him. He seems peaceful in sleep, which Kakashi is thankful for. He reaches up, cards his fingers once, twice in Gai’s hair. It’s soft. He doesn’t know what he would do if he lost him. If Gai, the one who has always been there for him, by his side, died. The thought instantly makes Kakashi feel sick.

Gai is his everything.

They rest there for about two hours, Kakashi never leaving Gai’s side and Sakura coming to check on Gai’s temperature every half hour. The pill hasn’t lowered it at all but, according to Sakura, it hasn’t risen either. Kakashi is glad but he knows now that Gai has a fever, the trek home is going to be even more difficult.

Kakashi is just starting to doze off himself when Sakura comes back over. She places her hand on Gai’s forehead, who hasn’t woken since he fell asleep. “Still no change but we should probably start thinking about moving again. The sooner we get back to the village, the better.”

Kakashi nods in agreement and waits for Sakura to walk away before he attempts to wake Gai up. “Gai.” He shakes Gai’s shoulder a little. Gai groans, face scrunching in pain. “Gai, it’s time to move.”

“Okay,” Gai sighs, sounding even more tired despite his rest. They stand, with Kakashi mostly having to actually pick Gai up to get him off the ground. He’s still sweating badly and he’s out of breath along with being unsteady on his feet. Gai takes a deep breath, lifts his head, and smiles. “Ready.”

Kakashi briefly thumps his forehead against Gai’s temple before starting to walk, going even slower than they were going before. It doesn’t seem to strain Gai all that much, at least not at first, but Kakashi knows him. He knows how much effort Gai is putting in to make it seem like he is okay, that he can do this. With every exhale, Gai’s whole body shakes. Kakashi pulls him closer to him.

Gai watches Sakura, Naruto, and Shikamaru who are ahead of them.

Kakashi watches Gai.

“Kakashi,” Gai pants.

“Hmm?”

“I’m sorry.”

Kakashi’s eyebrows furrow in confusion. “For what?”

“I should be able to go faster,” Gai says, his own eyebrows furrowing in frustration.

Kakashi peers in front of them at the backs of the rest of the group. “You don’t need to apologize for that, Gai.”

“I can do better,” Gai complains. “I should be able to do better.”

“Your worth isn’t based on what you can and can’t do, Gai.”

“Isn’t it?” Gai looks at him, blinks slowly. “Wasn’t it?”

“When we were kids?” Kakashi asks, clarifying. Gai opens his mouth to answer but trips over his own feet before he can. Kakashi reaches out with the hand that isn’t already wrapped around Gai to catch him. “Careful.” Kakashi looks at him. “If you’re that desperate to go faster, I could always carry you.”

Gai laughs. “I wouldn’t let you embarrass yourself in front of your students like that.”

“You did when you carried me back from Suna,” Kakashi points out, continuing to walk. They’ve fallen farther behind now but he doesn’t mind. It just means the kids won’t be able to hear them talking.

“That was me embarrassing myself,” Gai comments. “I embrace it.”

Kakashi studies him, watching Gai’s expression as it turns sad. It’s not a look he often sees on Gai’s face and when he does, he knows it’s bad. “You’re not an embarrassment to me, Gai.”

Gai huffs. “Don’t lie.”

“You’re not.” Kakashi smiles at him, making sure Gai sees it. “I love you.”

Gai stares at him, not surprised but not knowingly either. He turns away, face turning red though Kakashi isn’t sure if it’s from being flustered or if it’s from the fever. “You’re an idiot.”

“Isn’t that my line?” Kakashi asks playfully.

Gai sighs again. “You and I, Kakashi, we had to prove ourselves when we were kids. In different ways but it was still always there. Trying to gain people’s approval. You were the genius who had to live up to the name. I was the loser who had to show I wasn’t.” Gai looks at him once more. “Our worth is based on what we can do.”

“You’re wrong,” Kakashi says plainly. “Everyone is worth something. Everyone means something, no matter what they can do.” He smiles at Gai again. “You taught me that.”

Gai watches him and Kakashi keeps smiling until Gai smiles back. “Thank you, Kakashi.”

“I told you, I’ve got you.” Kakashi lets his eye turn soft in order to convey the feelings towards Gai that he is feeling. “I always will.” Kakashi stops and helps maneuver Gai to behind him. “Now, let me carry you.”

Gai wraps his arms around Kakashi’s neck and Kakashi hoists him up onto his back, holding Gai under his thighs. “I’m not as light as I used to be.”

Kakashi adjusts his hold until it feels alright. “This is fine.” Gai presses his forehead into the back of Kakashi’s neck before shifting and letting his chin rest on Kakashi’s shoulder. Kakashi continues to follow the others once they are situated. “The last time I carried you like this, was when you opened the seventh gate for the first time.”

“You were really mad at me then, too.”

“Because you could have died.”

Gai laughs. “I knew it.”

Kakashi shakes his head. “Gai.” Gai hums to let Kakashi know he’s listening. “You’ve always been there for me. You’ve always been by my side and had my back. So, no matter your skill level or what you can and cannot do, I don’t care. You mean a lot to me, Gai.”

Gai is quiet for a long time, which is unusual and Kakashi almost wonders if he had fallen asleep, but then Gai finally says, “You mean a lot to me too, Kakashi.” He buries his face into the crook of Kakashi’s neck. Kakashi swears he feels a kiss being pressed there. “More than anything.”

A ghost of a smile threatens to appear on Kakashi’s face but he resists the urge, instead opting to say, “Get some sleep, Gai. I’ll carry you the rest of the way home.”

“Just like before,” Gai says softly, nodding off.

Kakashi’s face grows soft. “Just like before.”

It’s not hard to carry Gai back and their pace improves with doing so. They stop only a couple of times to allow Sakura to check his temperature which hasn’t changed and by the time they get back to Konoha, it’s already night. Kakashi brings Gai straight to the hospital, Sakura with them, and she gets right to work on finding out what type of poison was used and making an antidote. As much as Kakashi doesn’t want to leave Gai’s side, he knows he has no choice. He leaves Sakura to it, heading for the Hokage office where Naruto and Shikamaru should be waiting.

The two shinobi are already in Tsunade’s office when he arrives. She lets him enter, telling him that they were waiting for him. He apologizes but stands his ground firmly. The Hokage doesn’t look happy with him, as Kakashi had expected to happen.

“What happened?” Tsunade asks, looking to all three of them but giving Kakashi a pointed look. She wants him to explain and him alone.

He does as he’s told, not giving any hint to regretting his decision for all of them to come back to Konoha. Tsunade still doesn’t look happy and she asks him why he thought it would be a good idea to just let the enemy escape. When he opens his mouth to defend himself, Shikamaru beats him to it, obviously having been thinking of this for a while.

“The consensus is that the kekkei genkai user can produce poison inside his body. If more of us got infected, then it would stem bad for the mission either way,” Shikamaru explains, looking bored. “All of us coming back means we can go after the target again once an antidote is made. That way, if one of us gets infected with the poison, then we can just take the antidote right there and then.” He shrugs. “It’s less troublesome.”

Tsunade is biting her bottom lip, looking at Shikamaru contemplatively. Finally, she tsks, sits back, and crosses her arms. “Very well. We’ll wait for an antidote to be made by Sakura.” She pauses, looking the team over. “I’m going to send different shinobi. You three, get some rest.”

“Eh!” Naruto immediately complains. “But baachan, we should be the ones to go back!”

Tsunade scowls and Shikamaru sighs. “Naruto, I’m not in the mood to have this argument with you. It’s better if you stay here and rest. It won’t do if I send you out there with only half your energy.”

“But I’m already rested!” Naruto yells, holding a fist up in a way to show he’s ready and pumped to keep going. “I have a lot of energy left!”

“Then go take it out on some training!” Tsunade yells back, standing up and placing her hands down firmly on her desk. “Now get out of my office.”

Naruto, shoving his hands into his pockets, turns and leaves as he grumbles under his breath. Shikamaru follows with a tired sigh, muttering, “How troublesome.”

Kakashi stays put and waits for the office door to be shut behind the two. He hears Tsunade sit back down. “What is it Kakashi?”

Kakashi turns back to the Hokage. “In the event of possibly angering you again, I have a request.” Tsunade’s eyebrow lifts in question. “I would like to be part of the team that goes after the kekkei genkai user.”

It’s Tsunade’s turn to sigh heavily, leaning forward to place her elbow on her desk and rest her chin in the palm of her hand. “You too, huh?” She tsks. “This is about Gai?” Kakashi stays quiet. If he admits to such a thing, she won’t let him. “Kakashi, you of all people should know that revenge isn’t the answer.”

“It’s not about revenge,” he says, partially true. “This was my mission that I failed.”

“So you want to make up for it,” Tsunade states. “And it absolutely has  _ nothing _ to do with Gai.”

“Right,” he says and they both know it’s a lie but Tsunade just sighs once more, looking at him with piercing eyes.

“Fine.” She sits up. “Once Sakura has an antidote made and we find the location of the two targets, I’ll gather up a team with you as the leader. For now, go get some rest.”

“Thank you, Hokage-sama.” Kakashi bows and then turns to leave.

“I mean it, Kakashi,” Tsunade says, stopping him. He glances over his shoulder at her. “Rest. I need you at top form for this mission. Don’t go to the hospital and work yourself up waiting for results on Gai.”

She knows him too well and not well enough. He waves goodbye to her with a smile and leaves, heading straight to the hospital despite Tsunade’s warning. He asks the nurse at the desk if he can see Gai and she tells him he’s not allowed any visitors at the moment. So, he goes and sits down in one of the chairs in the waiting room. He sits there for hours as he waits for any news about his best friend. He’s so nervous and worried about the results that he can’t even focus on the  _ Icha Icha _ book that he is carrying in his pouch.

He doesn’t know how many hours have passed but eventually Sakura appears in front of him with her hands on her hips. “I have a message from Hokage-sama.”

Kakashi guesses Tsunade knows him better than he had initially thought. “Oh?”

“She told you to go rest.”

“I am resting.”

“Not here.”

Kakashi shrugs, standing up and stretching his arms over his head. “How’s Gai?”

“I’ve come up with an antidote that will hopefully work.” She looks tired. “Only time will tell but I’m pretty confident in it. Anyway, Tsunade-sama wants you in her office. Apparently they’ve found the two men that got away on our mission.”

Kakashi nods. “So no time to see Gai, then, eh?”

Sakura shakes her head, face scrunching in disapproval. She gets more and more like Tsunade every day. “Even if there was, I wouldn’t let you. He needs to rest, Kakashi-sensei,” she reprimands. “Let the antidote do its work. Stop worrying.”

“I guess that’s it then.” He salutes her, feigning disinterest even though he knows Sakura sees right through it. “Bye bye.” He leaves in a puff of smoke, Sakura’s huff not going unheard.

When he enters the Hokage’s office for the second time, Tsunade glares at him. “I told you to rest.”

“I did.”

She tsks, knowing full well that he isn’t telling the truth but ignores it anyway. She turns her attention to the rest of the people in the room as Kakashi takes his place next to them. Neji, Ino, and Shino stand there, waiting for instructions. “This the team?” Kakashi asks.

Tsunade nods. “Ino is going with you for her medical ninjutsu. Since you said Gai couldn’t sense the kekkei genkai user, I thought Neji’s Byakugan would come in handy plus he is another jonin. Shino is going in case you need him to drain any chakras from either of the two.” Kakashi nods in approval. It is a good selection. “Here,” Tsunade places a small needle on her desk. “This is the antidote to the poison that the kekkei genkai user creates. Sakura unfortunately only had enough time to make two, one for Gai and one for this mission.” Kakashi picks up the needle and places it in his pouch. “We don’t have much time so you need to move out right away.”

Tsunade gives them the location of their targets. “We’ll get them this time, Hokage-sama,” Kakashi promises.

Tsunade’s mouth purses. “Don’t be reckless, Kakashi.”

Kakashi smiles at her. “I never am.” He then leaves with the rest of the group.

It would seem the enemy is headed towards the village, possibly to get revenge or wage a war on them for what Kakashi’s group had done to them earlier. Due to this, it doesn’t take them long to find the enemy, especially when using Neji’s Byakugan. They land out of sight and view the area that the two are resting at currently.

“Shino, Ino, you go for the original target. Neji, I want you to back me up with the kekkei genkai user,” Kakashi orders.

“Which is that?” Ino asks.

Kakashi gestures with his chin. “The man is your target.”

“Got it,” she says.

“So then that leaves-” Neji starts but Kakashi doesn’t wait for him to finish.

“Let’s go!”

They jump out of their hiding place, attacking immediately so not to give the enemy time to prepare. Despite this, the kekkei genkai user jumps up and produces a kunai to block Kakashi’s. They grapple with the kunai for a few seconds before jumping apart, the clang of the two knives loud.

Kakashi glances over to Ino and Shino who are in the midst of their own fight. When he confidently sees the two are holding their own, Kakashi turns back to his target, revealing his Sharingan. The woman in front of him laughs.

“Oh? Pitting me up against two eye users?” She crosses her arms. “How unfair.” She glances over to her companion. “Are you sure those two will be okay on their own? Kenji-san is pretty powerful.” As if to punctuate her point, Ino screams and is flung back quite a ways.

Kakashi doesn’t even flinch. “They’ll be fine,” he says, hoping he’s right.

The woman smiles at him. “If you’re sure.” She then does a couple hand signs and disappears.

Kakashi tries to find where she is using the Sharingan but can’t sense her anywhere. This must be what Gai was talking about. “Neji.”

“Byakugan!” Neji is quiet for a few seconds, the only sound being heard is the fight that is happening between Ino, Shino, and Kenji. Finally, he announces, “She’s over there!” He points into the woods. Kakashi still doesn’t see her but trusts Neji’s eyes.

He’s about to follow when he hears Shino grunt in pain and Ino screams again. He stops and looks over at them. They are both on the ground, wounded but nothing life threatening. Still, they look like they may need some help after all. “Neji, you stay here and assist them.”

Neji seems alarmed by this. “But-”

“I’ll be fine. Help them.” And then he’s off in the direction Neji had pointed in. It doesn’t take him long to get to a small clearing. He’s not sure why this woman wanted to be separated from her companion unless she didn’t want to risk having to fight all of them at once.

He looks around the clearing, suspicious as to why she hasn’t attacked him yet. He can’t sense her at all and-

Kakashi grunts as he just barely dodges an attack from the ground, a kunai slicing through his side. If he hadn't moved in time, he’d have been in the same predicament that Gai had found himself. He backflips out of the way, holding a hand to his side once he’s on the ground.

The woman laughs in front of him. “I can conceal myself perfectly. For you to dodge that attack… you’re good. A lot better than that loser in the green.”

Kakashi grits his teeth, resisting the urge to say anything back to her in irritation. He eyes the kunai. There’s blood that is dripping from her wrist down onto the kunai, covering it. The color of her blood is off, darker and more purple. So, that’s how she gets the poison onto the knife, as Kakashi had suspected. Which means, he’s already been poisoned himself.

She’s laughing again. “Do you know who I am?”

Kakashi meets her eyes. “I don’t really care.”

“Well, aren’t you rude.” She scowls. “I am Tadame and I possess the kekkei genkai that allows me to change my blood into poison.”

Kakashi sighs, feigning boredom. “Why do you people always feel the need to explain yourselves?”

Tadame huffs, annoyed. “Fine, let’s get this over with then. Shall we?” She disappears once more, the only sound around Kakashi being the wind.

He lifts his hand from his wound. It’s bleeding profusely with no sign of it clotting anytime soon. Kakashi thinks back to how much blood Gai had lost. The poison must prevent the blood from clotting, keeping it thinned out to speed up the process of the person bleeding out and for the poison to travel through the body easier. It’s an interesting way of doing things, considering bloodletting is a common practice of extracting poison from the body. Either way, Kakashi doesn’t have time to dwell on it. By the way Gai, someone who has a high tolerance for many things, reacted to the poison, Kakashi’s only got a few minutes before the poison starts to take effect. He doesn’t want to use the antidote quite yet, just in case he gets cut again.

“You know,” Tadame’s voice carries to him in the wind. “It’s not just my blood that will poison you. I can just scratch you and get the job done. Though less effective, I must confess.”

She appears in front of him suddenly, swiping her kunai down to cut Kakashi in the face. He brings his own kunai up just in time, blocking her blow. He understands now why Gai couldn’t dodge her. He can barely keep up while using the Sharingan. Without that, he’d be hopeless. She goes to swipe him in the face once again, but this time with her long nails. He jumps back before she can, his back hitting a tree. At the same time, he throws three kunai, each with an explosive tag on them.

They blow up on impact and Kakashi waits for the smoke and dirt to dissipate in order to see if he got her. He has a feeling it won’t be so easy. His side is on fire and he’s now panting, starting to feel the effects of the poison and blood loss. There is no body when everything settles.

Tadame giggles and Kakashi searches for her. “You really are hopeless. I’ve heard good things about the Copy Ninja. Is this all you can do?” She strikes at him from behind, causing him to duck. The blood soaked kunai cuts some strands of his hair. Gai isn’t going to like that. “I’m disappointed!”

She keeps striking at him, causing Kakashi to continuously dodge. His vision goes blurry for a second, making Kakashi stagger and Tadame gets a hit on him, slicing through his arm. Kakashi groans in pain, reaching up to the wound. His blood immediately covers his hand. He needs to find a way to end this quickly or else he’s not going to last.

Tadame laughs, twirling the kunai. “Pathetic.” She charges and Kakashi jumps away, throwing more kunai with explosive tags. As they fly through the air towards her, he does the signs for his Chidori. He staggers as he lands on his feet but keeps his footing, immediately going into a charge of his own as the tags explode around them.

“Chidori!” he yells as he approaches. Tadame is already in the process of escaping the explosion and, Kakashi having anticipated that, lunges at her, catching her off guard. His chidori clips her in the right shoulder as she tries to dodge, splattering her blood over Kakashi’s arm and rendering her arm useless. Doing so, however, gets Kakashi close enough for her to grab a hold of his arm with her good hand and dig her fingernails into him, holding him in place.

“You bastard!” she screams, leaning in to bite him. Kakashi kicks at her stomach, making her go flying and dragging her fingernails across his arm as he is ripped free of her grasp.

Tadame staggers to her feet, blood pouring out of her shoulder. Kakashi pants where he stands, stomach lurching with nausea and eyesight going blurry again. He was close. If he can just get close to her again then maybe…

“I’m going to kill you!” she howls menacingly and charges.

Kakashi leaps into the air, feels the world spin around him, and reaches into his pouch. He doesn’t have much time left. At this rate he’ll… he digs out the antidote just as Tadame changes course and jumps after him, an angry scream leaving her mouth as she aims her kunai. He doesn’t have the strength or the reaction time to dodge her attack this time. He has to rely on this.

He plunges the needle into his thigh just as her kunai stabs into him. She grins as they fall to the ground but Kakashi wraps an arm around her and pulls her closer to him. It digs the kunai into him more, causing him to flinch, but he needs to keep her still long enough to do his last move. They land and she tries to pull away but Kakashi can already feel the antidote working, restoring some of his strength. He holds her there, refusing to let go.

“What?” she asks in surprise, still struggling to pull away. “How are you-”

Kakashi’s eyebrows furrow in anger, his nose scrunching, and mouth turning into a scowl under his mask. “You hurt the one person I am the closest to.” Kakashi lifts up the hand that isn’t holding her in place, lightning crackling all around his palm. “The person I care about more than anything else.”

“What?” Tadame’s eyes widen, realizing what is about to happen.

“And you’re going to die for that.” He drives his hand forward.

“No!” Tadame screams, eyes staring at him in pure fury.

Kakashi ignores her and thrusts his hand through her chest. Her blood splashes up onto his face but he pays it no mind as he watches her take her last breath and the light goes out in her eyes. When he knows for certain she is dead, he drops her body and pulls out the kunai from his side, groaning in pain. He looks down at his wounds. The antidote must be doing its job. His cuts and scratches are starting to clot now.

Pressing a hand to his side, over the stab wound, he sits down and waits for Neji, Ino, and Shino to join him, hoping that they won’t need his assistance. He wouldn’t be any good to them in this state. He looks up at the sky. The sun is starting to set.

He wants to go see Gai.

The sound of rustling in the bushes catches his attention and he’s on high alert again until Ino comes rushing out and to his side. “Kakashi-sensei!” She kneels down beside him and starts to heal his stab wound.

Shino and Neji look around the small clearing. “It’s done then?” Neji asks.

Kakashi nods. “Kenji?”

“Dead,” Shino answers and holds up a bag that Kakashi presumes has his head in it.

Kakashi looks towards Tadame’s body. “Let’s take her too. We’ll want to study her body.”

Neji and Shino nod in understanding. It takes a few more minutes before Ino stands, having finished healing his wounds. “Are you alright, Kakashi-sensei?”

“Hmm,” he hums, standing up. He stumbles a little, getting a bit dizzy, but Ino steadies him with a hand on his arm. “I took the antidote. I’ll be perfectly fine soon.” He looks back to the sky. It’s almost dark. “Let’s get home.”

Kakashi wraps Tadame up and then lifts her body onto his back. They walk home, all four of them feeling exhausted. When they do get back, they head straight to the Hokage’s office, Kakashi dropping Tadame’s body on the floor next to her desk and Neji dropping Kenji’s head onto her desk.

She scowls at Kakashi’s appearance. “You’re getting blood on my floor.”

Kakashi shrugs nonchalantly. “Eh, it was a bit tougher than expected.” He turns more serious. “Some of this is Tadame’s, the kekkei genkai user, blood. I thought some could be collected and analyzed. I’m not sure if the blood in her body turns to normal after she dies.”

Tsunade stands and approaches Kakashi, looking contemplative. “So the kekkei genkai user was a female?” Kakashi nods in confirmation.

“Only Gai saw her so it makes sense only he knew,” Kakashi comments.

Tsunade hums, staring at the purple blood on Kakashi’s mask. She waves her hand and an ANBU member appears. “Take a sample of this blood and send it to a lab to be tested and analyzed. Take the body and Kenji’s head with you.”

“Understood!” The ANBU member does as told, disappearing shortly after with Tadame’s body and Kenji’s head.

The four of them then go into a debriefing, Tsunade looking displeased at learning that Kakashi fought the kekkei genkai user by himself, but pleased with the results nonetheless. She sighs when they are done. “Alright, the four of you get some rest. You’ll have a couple days off.” Ino, Shino, and Neji all nod and turn to leave the room. Kakashi turns to follow but is called back by Tsunade. “Kakashi.”

“Yes?”

“Before you go to the hospital, go home and at least clean yourself up.” Her eyes soften and she leans her chin in her palm, not unlike earlier in the day. “I’m sure Gai would appreciate you not having blood all over you when you see him.”

Kakashi’s heart starts beating fast in his chest and he can feel his ears heating up. He supposes he underestimated Tsunade if he thought he could hide his feelings from her. “Understood.” He leaves the office then, heading back to his apartment to take a quick shower.

Once done, he heads straight to the hospital. Visiting hours are over already but it’s not too hard to figure out what room Gai is in. He jumps up to the window and opens it silently, slipping into the room.

Gai is asleep, resting on his back with his limbs flared out. Kakashi smiles warmly down at him, reaching out to brush some hair out of Gai’s face. It causes Gai to stir, his breath hitching and he slowly opens his eyes. “K… Kakashi?”

Kakashi sits down on the edge of the bed, pressing into Gai’s side. “Hey, Gai.”

Gai smiles up at him. “I didn’t die.”

Kakashi runs a hand through Gai’s hair and down the side of his face. “No, you didn’t.”

Gai’s grin is growing larger, blinding in the dark. “We’ll be eternal rivals yet!”

Kakashi nods, leaning closer. “Yes, we will.”

“Plenty of competitions to still do.”

“Hmm.”

“Kakashi, I lov-”

Kakashi pulls down his mask and kisses him.

**Author's Note:**

> This ended up being super long… oops…
> 
> I wasn’t actually planning on it turning out that they would have to go back and defeat those two enemies but the story kind of drove its own plot forward, taking control of my writing.
> 
> I hope I made it clear enough in the story that Gai using she/her pronouns while everyone else used he/his pronouns for the kekkei genkai user was on purpose. It’s another thing I wasn’t actually going to explicitly say in the story, but I didn’t want people to think it was a writing mistake so I added in an explanation anyway.
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed this story! Thank you all for reading!!
> 
> [Tumblr](https://angelcamael.tumblr.com/)   
>  [Fanfiction Tumblr](https://lopithecusfanfiction.tumblr.com/)


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